2 NEISD schools now to be finished by Dec. 7

Updated 12:56 am, Saturday, August 4, 2012

The North East Independent School District released new, December completion dates for two elementary schools Friday — after agreeing to forfeit half the damages it's entitled to for each day the projects run late.

Construction on the Los Lomas and Vineyard Ranch elementary schools fell behind after multiple subcontractors walked off the job, complaining they weren't being paid by Phoenix-based general contractor Summit Builders.

The company agreed to have both schools ready by Dec. 7 on the condition that the district halve the $2,500 per-school-per-day damages that began accruing once Summit missed its original mid-July completion dates.

That's about $250,000 the district will forgo.

“This is not something I was in favor of doing,” Superintendent Brian Gottardy said in a prepared statement. “None of us wanted to make this concession; however, Safeco would not give NEISD a new completion date unless the district agreed to work with them on liquidated damages.”

Chancellor said the district is not incurring any financial costs associated with the delayed openings but wanted to come to a quick agreement with the bonding company so the schools could open as soon as possible.

“We didn't want the possibility of Safeco getting a new general contractor, which would have set things back even further,” she said.

Though stripped of its financial responsibilities, Summit remains in charge of construction and Chancellor said the district has no concerns with the quality of work provided.

Neither Liberty Mutual nor Summit President Jeffrey Stone could be reached for comment.

“Relationships are very important and trust, obviously, is very important. If you look at Summit, they really didn't have much experience in this market,” said Larralde, whose organization is largely made up of subcontractors. “They didn't know many of the subs, and it's our understanding that many of the subs came from outside San Antonio.”

Gottardy expressed concern that construction could continue throughout the 2012-13 school year unless the district accepted less in damages.

If the construction is not complete by Dec. 7, the discount will not apply and the district will recoup the full damages.

“We had to do what was best for our students, families and community,” Gottardy said. “My No. 1 priority is getting the schools opened as soon as possible.”